Monks, stereotyped to be old, bald men that look like chipmunks and slowly lingered
around all day in a single-file line humming and praying, but surprisingly enough,
they were very smart people who were very devoted to their religion and the
world around them. They spent hours and hours devoting themselves to their religion
and the people around them. “The life of a monk combined continual prayer
and study, with hours in church everyday, with the activities and responsibilities
of something very like a business career (Reeves, 25).
The daily life of a monk was very hectic. The monks didn’t have great
inventions, but they did have clocks. The monks slept in the great dormitory.
Wooden screens separated each cubicle so each monk could have their own room.
“Although the details of daily life differed from one order to the next,
monastic life was generally one of hard physical work, scholarship, and prayer
(http://www.britainexpress.com, 10/3/02).
The monasteries held services every few hours. When the monks weren’t
praying or in meeting they were working. Each monk was assigned a particular
job. They kept the same daily routine every day. The only thing that changes
is the things that they do in between services. The first thing that a monk
did in between services sib studying to become a priest or another type of profession.
Next, the bishop becomes a priest. After becoming a priest, the monks must still
do jobs around the monastery. “The monks’ jobs are divided into
different sections, religious life, supply, and getting and spending”
(Reeves, 24-25). The prior is the one who distributes the jobs. The monks must
have a wide range of training because they are constantly switching jobs and
homes. A typical career is one of Monk Richard Barton. In 1412 he was ordained
a priest and started at Durham College, Oxford. In 1415, he was sent to Stamford.
In the 1420’s he was sent back to Oxford for further studies. From 1428-1431
he became the warden of Durham College. At a monastery called Durham, he held
various offices, such as third prior, feretrar, and chamberlain. From 1440-1462
he was prior of Stamford until he retired in 1462.
The monasteries were beautiful places for living and praying. They were also very important in making a comfortable place for the monks to live since the point was to be secluded from everyone else. The monks followed certain schedules called “timetables.” During the summer they followed a certain timetable. At midnight the held Matins in the church for about an hour. Hymns, psalms, and readings were read. At six am, Prime was held in the church for about 1/2 hour. More hymns and psalms were sung. At 9am Chapter mass was held in the church. This mass is similar to the mass held in churches today. At 10am the Chapter meeting was held in the chapter house. Jobs were appointed for other purposes including festivals or filling in for someone. Announcements were made. At 11am High Mass was held in the church. The is one of the most important services. Afterwards, dinner was served. At 2pm Nones was held in the church for about 1/2 hour. At 7pm Compile, the evening prayer, was held in the church for about 1/2 hour. Most monasteries were built by the same kind of plan as Rievaulx in the North England. They were usually very big. They were made out of stone and filled with beautiful artwork. They layout of the monasteries were very well thought out. There were many different rooms and homes in the monastery. Most monasteries today are, if not totally destroyed, are now in ruins.
Monasteries were very important during the dark ages of England. They served
as libraries and the only source of learning during the Dark ages. Since the
point of the monasteries was to be secluded from everyone else in the world,
they didn’t go through a dark period. They monasteries were the only sources
of learning and they were the only places where there were any written records.
During the Dark Ages, monks were often the smartest people in society. Monasteries
were places of prayer for only men. But, there were places called nunneries
which were almost exactly like monasteries except that they were for only women.
The most popular jobs in a monastery were jobs such as scribes and the scribes
would copy manuscripts and bibles. They bibles were beautifully decorated and
illustrated. “the monks created ‘illuminated’ manuscripts;
beautifully illustrated Bibles and prayer books with painstakingly created images
on most pages” (www.britainexpress.com, 10/3/02).
Monasteries had many rules and people had to conform to those rules. The rules in a monastery were very strict and if they were broken, the consequences were pretty bad. Some people insisted on blaming the devil for everything that went wrong, such as the choir singing badly, or someone getting hurt. This is what some monks said about devils, “in church the devils make us sing badly. One day, when Abbot’s choir was beginning the first psalm for Matins, the devils came crowding in an, by going to and fro, made the brothers quickly break down in the singing.” The rules were mostly centered around religion and respect. The rules varied depending on your age, sex, and social ranking. The clothing in a monastery was very simple. The colors of clothing varied but most monks wore a gown, which was the article of clothing that usually differentiated the types of monks, a cowl, a hood, and a scapular, a piece of cloth hanging down in the front and the back. Monks were mostly the same, with a few exceptions. Some types were Benedictine or Black, Cluniac, Cisterian or white, Carthusian, Canons, and Friars, Franciscons or Friars Minor, and Dominicans or Friars Preachers.
Monasteries had a large impact on the world around them and made a huge statement
when they decided to devote their whole life to religion. “Monks were
very influential to the Christian religion and really helped Europe during the
Dark Ages” (Boyd, 62).